Colonoscopy Prep - Timing Advice

[jen3kids]

I'm scheduled to have a colonoscopy on Nov. 20.  I've already re-scheduled it twice, but I have a bit of a conflict on timing of the prep.

 

My dr's prep instructions say to begin at bedtime on Nov 18 with 2 Ducolax tablets, and then on Nov. 19, drink the bottle of Miralax (mixed with the appropriate gatorade colour), followed with 2 fleet enemas.

 

Trouble is, I am supposed to be somewhere until noon on the 19th.  Can I take the Ducolax then?  And then take the Miralax in the afternoon/evening?  My appt is at 11:30am, if that makes a difference.

 

My dd had a colonoscopy with a different dr than I'm seeing and her prep had different timing instructions.  Her appt was supposed to be at 2pm, but got switched to 8am.  The nurse assured me that it would be fine, so dd took the Ducolax at 4pm the day before her procedure and started the Miralax at 7pm, I think.  Her prep didn't include any fleet enemas either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2017 by jen3kids

[Sharpie]

My experience has been similar to your dd.  Two Dulcolax tabs at 4 pm the day before the procedure.  6 pm the bottle of Miralax and at 7 pm two more Dulcolax tabs.  No sleep that night. :crying:

Procedure at 9 the next morning. 

[SKL]

I was a little late starting my prep, and also did not do any enemas, and I was told the prep was excellent, so the start time probably has a bit of flexibility.  I don't recall exactly but I think the main prep was in the evening before the procedure.  If the meeting is very important and rescheduling the procedure is not a good option, I would give it a whirl.  (No pun intended.)  Just make sure you can remain in the vicinity of a restroom after you start the miralax.  :)

[jen3kids]

My experience has been similar to your dd.  Two Dulcolax tabs at 4 pm the day before the procedure.  6 pm the bottle of Miralax and at 7 pm two more Dulcolax tabs.  No sleep that night. :crying:

Procedure at 9 the next morning. 

 

Dd didn't have to take the second set of Ducolax tablets, but she was still 'in motion' the next morning.  When we arrived at the office at 7am, she needed to go again, but they said it wasn't a problem.  They took her back, she used the bathroom, and prepped her for the procedure.  She was done and ready to go home in an hour.   

[BarbecueMom]

Hmmm... mine had me take Dulcolax at 1:00pm the day before, Miralax over 2 hours at 2:00pm (FWIW, I mixed with plain water, because I would be throwing up 64oz of an undiluted sweet drink in that short time frame... DH did not use water and regretted it), nothing after midnight, 8:30am test. I was bored until the last glass of Miralax, and I think only got up once during the night.

 

I'd call and ask. The prep instructions are so different, and I'm not sure why.

[Sharpie]

Dd didn't have to take the second set of Ducolax tablets, but she was still 'in motion' the next morning.  When we arrived at the office at 7am, she needed to go again, but they said it wasn't a problem.  They took her back, she used the bathroom, and prepped her for the procedure.  She was done and ready to go home in an hour.   

 

The procedure location was a bit over an hours drive away for us and I took extra measures, sure that "a make shift bathroom" would be needed.  :huh:  Thankfully we left as late as possible and never needed it.  The home bathroom was used right before we left.  

[hornblower]

I think a lot depends on your particular elimination patterns.  A person with regular frequent movements doesn't need as much prep because there simply isn't as much in the bowel. If you suffer from constipation or impaction or aresimply not a frequent mover, you would need to start earlier and do a longer, more stepwise prep. 

If you're a once a day or more person,  I think you could just do the late afternoon prep. 



 

[jen3kids]

I was a little late starting my prep, and also did not do any enemas, and I was told the prep was excellent, so the start time probably has a bit of flexibility.  I don't recall exactly but I think the main prep was in the evening before the procedure.  If the meeting is very important and rescheduling the procedure is not a good option, I would give it a whirl.  (No pun intended.)  Just make sure you can remain in the vicinity of a restroom after you start the miralax.  :)

 

I have nothing going on after noon, so I will be home and next to the bathroom.  

 

 

Hmmm... mine had me take Dulcolax at 1:00pm the day before, Miralax over 2 hours at 2:00pm (FWIW, I mixed with plain water, because I would be throwing up 64oz of an undiluted sweet drink in that short time frame... DH did not use water and regretted it), nothing after midnight, 8:30am test. I was bored until the last glass of Miralax, and I think only got up once during the night.

 

I'd call and ask. The prep instructions are so different, and I'm not sure why.

 

 

My dd also took awhile to get going as well, but once it got started, she kept going.  She opted to sleep in the basement, with her own bathroom, just in case someone was in the upstairs one when she needed it.

 

 

The procedure location was a bit over an hours drive away for us and I took extra measures, sure that "a make shift bathroom" would be needed.  :huh:  Thankfully we left as late as possible and never needed it.  The home bathroom was used right before we left.  

 

 

Thankfully, I'm only a 10 minute drive from the office. 

 

 

I think a lot depends on your particular elimination patterns.  A person with regular frequent movements doesn't need as much prep because there simply isn't as much in the bowel. If you suffer from constipation or impaction or aresimply not a frequent mover, you would need to start earlier and do a longer, more stepwise prep. 

 

If you're a once a day or more person,  I think you could just do the late afternoon prep. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm very regular, everyday, so I don't think I'll have a problem with beginning Sunday afternoon.  

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I'm going to 'go for it', and get it over with.  My dd assures me that she had the best nap ever during her procedure!

[Lanny]

I have had 2 or 3 of those none recently. What I remember is drinking like a Gallon of liquid the night before. That starts off OK, but gradually becomes horrible.  After the examinations, it took a week or so for my system to return to "normal".   

 

Good luck with your examination.  Extremely important to have done!

[Seasider]

I always schedule morning procedures because if I don't my blood sugar and blood pressure both drop too low with an afternoon procedure. I have never started a prep until the evening before. Never as early as 2 PM for sure. Absolutely never two days in advance.

Edited November 7, 2017 by Seasider

[SKL]

What did start earlier was the diet stuff.  Clear liquids and such.  No nuts etc for several days before.  I did not read instructions as early as I should have, but it worked out OK.  :P

[Seasider]

What did start earlier was the diet stuff. Clear liquids and such. No nuts etc for several days before. I did not read instructions as early as I should have, but it worked out OK. :P

Oh yeah I forgot about the clear diet. I was thinking about the purging prescriptions.

[goldberry]

Ugh... I have the consult for mine on Friday.  Not looking forward to this!  It will be my first one.  :mellow:

[JFSinIL]

Mine was just clear juice, etc. one day, next day same clear liquid diet, and start the Big Jug of Doom no later than 3pm - 8 ounces every 15 minutes. Ended up too queasy to do the entire Big Jug of Doom, tossing my cookies after a couple hours, and calling the doctor's office - they had me stop then (about 5pm) and get up 4am to do three more 8 ounces doses in an hour. Plus Fleet before leaving the house. My procedure was 10am.

Edited November 8, 2017 by JFSinIL

[magnificent_baby]

You need to follow the directions exactly and skip the meeting, or reschedule the procedure. It would really suck to do all the prep, go through all the pre op process, be put to sleep only to have to stop the test due to inadequate prep. I work in anesthesia, and yes this does happen. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by magnificent_baby

[DawnM]

I have had 2 or 3 of those none recently. What I remember is drinking like a Gallon of liquid the night before. That starts off OK, but gradually becomes horrible.  After the examinations, it took a week or so for my system to return to "normal".   

 

Good luck with your examination.  Extremely important to have done!

 

They have new stuff out that doesn't require you to drink that much.  I hear it is much better.

[Laurie]

They have new stuff out that doesn't require you to drink that much.  I hear it is much better.

 

Yes!

 

I had seen what my dh went through with the "Moviprep" liquid so when it was my turn I told the nurse that I couldn't possibly drink all of that awful stuff.  So she said in that case I should do the "Prepopik" instead.  

 

For me, it was much better because I could use my beverage of choice (hot tea) for most of the prep.  

http://www.prepopik.com/how-to-take-prepopik/

[Ali in OR]

My prescribed prep did not include either dulcolax or fleet enemas--just the drink. I can't remember what time I started it, but I could not keep that stuff down. I was quite concerned that I'd been following the diet guidelines for 5 days I think and I wouldn't be able to have the test. I called the on-call doc at about 7:00 pm the night before my morning procedure and he tried to call in a different prescription for me, but the pharmacy didn't have it. It was the pharmacist who told me about Miralax and Gatorade, so I bought that stuff and started at about 8:00 and didn't finish until after midnight. But that alone worked just fine (and though not too tasty, I was able to keep it down). After the procedure I specifically asked if the prep was sufficient and they said it was. So I wouldn't worry about starting later.

[Corraleno]

I was told that if I was really regular and never had issues with constipation, then I could do a lighter prep and start in the afternoon the day before. I think I started around 2:00 PM with the Dulcolax, and then started the Miralax & Gatorade at about 4:00. I had to be at the hospital at 8:00 AM, but I was empty well before then.

 

One thing I highly recommend is to get some Desitin or other zinc ointment to protect sensitive areas from all that acid, because the burning was seriously the worse part of the whole prep. I ended up sending DH to the store at about 10 PM to get some, and next time I will definitely start using it before things get going.

 

Both of my brothers have had colon cancer, and one died in his 40s, so I am supposed to do this every 5 years.  :ack2:

[SKL]

You need to follow the directions exactly and skip the meeting, or reschedule the procedure. It would really suck to do all the prep, go through all the pre op process, be put to sleep only to have to stop the test due to inadequate prep. I work in anesthesia, and yes this does happen. 

 

Or call the doctor and find out if there is an acceptable way to revise the prep protocol.  I would do that before canceling either appointment.  As noted above, most people don't start that early, so I would at least want to know why that is a requirement for the OP.

[magnificent_baby]

Or call the doctor and find out if there is an acceptable way to revise the prep protocol.  I would do that before canceling either appointment.  As noted above, most people don't start that early, so I would at least want to know why that is a requirement for the OP.

 

That's an option too, but since she was asking the hive instead, my point was suggesting not to alter the schedule on her own. All of my patients that I see prior to anesthesia are on a clear liquid diet the day before, so if that's not part of the instruction, it could be very necessary to start the prep that early.

 

When a procedure is canceled last minute it's a huge waste of money as nearly all of disposable equipment has to be discarded once opened, even if it's not used. 

[CAJinBE]

I found using a straw helps with drinking so much of the stuff if you don't like the taste. It's funny how different everyone's preps are. I had to change my diet for several days and then drink several liters of something starting late afternoon the day before but no other pills or enemas. It worked really well. I was awake during the procedure and could see the inside of my colon. For me the worst part was the low fiber diet for a few days before. It was like jello, white bread, and broth. Yuck! And only clear drinks, nothing red or dark purple. 

[ondreeuh]

I was told that if I was really regular and never had issues with constipation, then I could do a lighter prep and start in the afternoon the day before. I think I started around 2:00 PM with the Dulcolax, and then started the Miralax & Gatorade at about 4:00. I had to be at the hospital at 8:00 AM, but I was empty well before then.

 

One thing I highly recommend is to get some Desitin or other zinc ointment to protect sensitive areas from all that acid, because the burning was seriously the worse part of the whole prep. I ended up sending DH to the store at about 10 PM to get some, and next time I will definitely start using it before things get going.

 

Both of my brothers have had colon cancer, and one died in his 40s, so I am supposed to do this every 5 years. :ack2:

Have you been tested for Lynch syndrome? It runs in my family, and even though I am negative, I still have to do it every couple of years.

[Corraleno]

Have you been tested for Lynch syndrome? It runs in my family, and even though I am negative, I still have to do it every couple of years.

I don't think so, but I will look into that. Thanks!